


Examination

by uniquepov



Series: Lewis: The World, Transformed [3]
Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-05
Updated: 2012-09-05
Packaged: 2017-11-13 14:33:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/504511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uniquepov/pseuds/uniquepov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hathaway tries to rationalise the unexpected revelation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Examination

**Author's Note:**

> _“The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover the world, transformed.”_ ~~ Jiddu Krishnamurti 
> 
>  
> 
> I do not own Lewis, Hathaway, or any of the others; only the plot is mine, and I make no profit from these scribblings. I'm just playing in Colin Dexter's sandbox for a while.

James leaned back heavily, thudding his head painfully against the brick wall, a lit cigarette dangling from his fingers. He’d managed to control his nicotine cravings to this point – a combination of shock, adrenaline and the fact that the new health regulations obliged him to walk much too far from the hospital grounds in order to indulge – but after the nurse’s revelation that _he_ was down as Lewis’ next of kin – _sodding hell, as his ‘domestic partner’_ – he’d needed the fag to clear his head. So far, in fact, he’d needed three, but no one besides himself was there to be counting.

The funny thing was, James could easily see Lewis putting him down as emergency contact, with his growled, “he’s me partner” then misconstrued by a younger, more tolerant hospital employee. There were a dozen logical reasons, from proximity to pragmatism – someone would need to inform Innocent, after all – to a wish not to worry his children. Lyn, in the north, had a newborn to care for, while Mark was out of the country, parts unknown. Well, Lewis would know where his son was, he supposed, but James certainly did not.

Yes, there were at least a dozen eminently practical reasons for Lewis to have listed him, and just as many less-than- practical ones. It was _those_ reasons that gave him pause.

In his more introspective moments, James acknowledged that Lewis was much more than his Inspector, his governor; Lewis was his friend. They spent nearly as much time together off duty as on; pints after work, dinner after that, even the odd weekend outing for a game of lawn tennis or to watch the football.

James had felt vaguely guilty, taking up so much of Lewis’ time. He’d encouraged – hell, he’d pushed – Lewis to spend more time with Dr Hobson, once he’d seen Lewis finally starting to take notice of her, but nothing seemed to have come of that. When he’d dared to ask, Lewis had just given him a sad, wistful smile and shook his head. 

So, definitely not on. That ruled out Laura as an emergency contact, then.

There was no one else, as far as James knew, and he was fairly certain that he would at least be aware of the possibility, if not the certainty or details. Perhaps Lewis had found himself not quite ready to move on from the memory of his wife. Years had passed, it was true, but people grieved in their own time. Who was he to say it was beyond time for Lewis to have buried the past?

So to speak.

All things considered, however, Lewis _had_ seemed ready to move on, or James wouldn’t have pushed it. Perhaps Laura had wanted more than Lewis was ready to give. In light of her personality, though, James dismissed that as highly unlikely. The good doctor had seemingly infinite patience, understanding, and compassion. No, if that relationship was a no- go, it was to do with Lewis, that much was certain.


End file.
